Gavin Newsom’s first Chronicle photo opportunity in 1991

1of5Gavin Newsom with Paul Mohen, Andrew Getty and Billy Getty posing for a "Children of the Rich" feature that ran in the San Francisco Chronicle on Dec. 12, 1991.Photo: Scott Sommerdorf / The Chronicle

3of5Gavin Newsom at the opening of the PlumpJack wine shop on Oct. 29, 1992.Photo: Steve Castillo / The Chronicle

4of5Gavin Newsom at the opening of the PlumpJack wine shop on Oct. 29, 1992.Photo: Steve Castillo / The Chronicle

5of5Gavin Newsom with Paul Mohen, Andrew Getty and Billy Getty posing for a "Children of the Rich" feature that ran in the San Francisco Chronicle on Dec. 12, 1991.Photo: Scott Sommerdorf / The Chronicle

But The Chronicle photo archive proves that for Gavin Newsom, there was indeed life before wonky political speeches about tidal power and middle-class workforce strategy. The former San Francisco mayor, who will be sworn in as California governor today, gained his first regional publicity as the 24-year-old co-owner of a new Cow Hollow wine shop.

Newsom was introduced to Chronicle readers on Dec. 21, 1991, in a People section article titled: “A New Generation Makes Its Mark: Society kids take up endeavors outside the expected realm.”

In his earliest interviews, there’s little sign of the policy-focused politician who once dropped a 7 ½-hour State of the City address on YouTube.

“The sons of Gordon Getty and Justice Bill Newsom are opening a wine shop in Cow Hollow in March called Plump Jack, after the opera Getty wrote based on the Falstaff character,” the Chronicle article stated, including a photo of Newsom, Andrew Getty and Billy Getty standing in a doorway. “… Gavin Newsom, 24, thinks they are doing their families, who are wine collectors, a favor.”

Gavin Newsom at the PlumpJack wine store, posing on Oct. 22, 1992 for a Chronicle feature.

Photo: Fred Larson / The Chronicle

That was followed by Newsom’s first-ever quote in the pages of The Chronicle: “We can save them some money and also give them access to better-quality wines.”

That’s actually not a bad slogan for a campaign in 2018. A little more wordy than “Courage for a change,” but it speaks directly to the voters.

In the months that followed the 1991 article, more photos of Newsom were taken by The Chronicle, mostly standing next to rich people, bottles of wine, or both. Newsom appears during one photo shoot to be wearing Sun-In to lighten his hair, which is slicked back to 2019 specifications.

Peter Hartlaub is The San Francisco Chronicle’s pop culture critic and host of the podcast The Big Event. The Bay Area native has worked at The Chronicle since 2000, and was a Chronicle paperboy from 1982 to 1984. He reviews movies, television and comedy, covers entertainment, creates multimedia projects and writes the Our San Francisco local history column. The Big Event is recorded in The Chronicle’s basement archive. Hartlaub lives in Alameda.